Ebonyheart

Ebonyheart is a long-furred black she-cat with a fluffy tail, leaf-green eyes, and a pale pink nose.

A Shining Dawn
She is listed in the allegiances as a kit of MoonClan.

Ebonykit watches the sun as it rises above the horizon, her brother, Troutkit, standing next to her. She wonders how the sun lifts itself up and where it comes from, but that day she did not to think about it, as she and her brother had reached the sixth moon of their lives, which meant they would become apprentices that day. She can hardly keep still as the sun brightens the dark camp.

Troutkit asks her who she thinks her mentor is going to be, and she answers she hopes it's Dewheart, since she's really nice and the Clan deputy. Her brother says he wants, but trails off, saying he doesn't know who could be a good mentor for him. A new voice suggests maybe Thornheart could, and Ebonykit and Troutkit turn around to see their mother, Pinespeckle.

She suddenly decides to play in the little shallow cove of water by the nursery, but before she can move, her mother starts grooming her pelt. Her mother's rough tongue on her back feels soothing, and she forgets about the water and lays down. Troutkit complains if he has to, too, and Pinespeckle answers meows in between Ebonykit's grooming yes, if he wants to look nice for his apprentice ceremony.

Soon it is her brother's turn and after that Ebonykit does not know what to do next. But noise in front of the Rockledge makes her turn to it. Cats are gathering under it and Moonstar stands on top of it. She thinks that it's time.

Moonstar calls for a meeting and the rest of the Clan settles beneath the ledge. The kit is nudged forward by Pinespeckle, and she nervously, shakily walks to the Rockledge, with Troutkit and their mother not far behind. When the kits reach it, their mother backs away into the crowd. The cats shift to make room for the kits.

The leader bounds off her ledge and in front of Ebonykit and Troutkit, meowing that this is one of her favorite duties as leader, as new apprentices are always a good omen, and glances at them. She goes on to say that they have reached their sixth moon, and will be known as apprentices until they become true warriors. The kit feels overwhelmed with all the gazes pouring into her, even though they are familiar.

After Moonstar renames Troutkit to Troutpaw and gives him Voleblaze as a mentor, she mews that it is Ebonykit's turn now. The kit, on shaky paws, takes a couple steps towards her leader. She thinks how up close the older she-cat looked different, with shining eyes and a muzzle turning gray with age. She murmurs in the kit's ear to not be afraid, and she feels less afraid, even a little comforted.

She is granted the new name Ebonypaw and given Dewheart as a mentor. She thinks to herself yes, she got the really nice deputy Dewheart. Dewheart now stands next to her and the new apprentice realizes her mentor's fur feels soft against her own. Moonstar goes on to say that the deputy did an amazing job training Morningshine and trusts that she will devote herself to Ebonypaw also.

She reaches up and touches noses with her mentor, then goes over and licks Moonstar's shoulder. She turns back and faces her Clan, thinking to herself how she would devote her own self to be the best warrior possible. They start cheering her and Troutpaw's new names. She turns her gaze to her mother, who looks about to burst with pride, and Streamkit, who would become an apprentice soon, too.

Once MoonClan settles down, and cats go back to their normal duties, Ebonypaw notices Silverpaw pad through the camp entrance with herbs in her mouth. She mews a greeting to the two new apprentices, using their kit names, through her mouthful. Her friend corrects her, saying they were Ebonypaw and Troutpaw now. Silverpaw says that it was about time and asks if she'd seen Icesplash, the medicine cat. The younger cat tells her she just went into the medicine den. Her friend thanks her, trotting toward the medicine den and inside.

She turns her gaze towards the ocean, which sparkles under the early morning sunlight. She jumps as a tail-tip is set on her shoulder, and realizes it's Dewheart, the deputy and her new mentor. Dewheart meows that she was sorry to scare her, and that they're going to take a tour of the territory if she's ready. But she is more than ready, as in a moment she is already at the camp entrance, tail high in the air.

From the other end of camp, Troutpaw yowls to wait for him and his new mentor, Voleblaze. They run up to them and the apprentice is practically bouncing up and down, thinking how she's going to see MoonClan territory with her mentor and brother, and of course his mentor, too.

The four cats then walk out of camp, and she realizes how she had never been out in the forest before. Though her sister, Icepaw, had told her and her brother all about it, it had never felt real, just like a cat describing a vole from the fresh-kill pile. Suddenly, tiny feet patter the ground tail-lengths away, and she turns away from the small group, realizing it was a mouse nibbling a seed in front of an oak tree. She feels the need to catch it, as she can see it three tail-lengths away. She starts creeping towards it, instinctively crouching down. As it still hadn't noticed her, when she was close enough, she wiggled her haunches and pounced. Her claws snag it and throw it into the air, where it falls dazed back onto the ground. She takes a final leap and bites hard into its neck, killing it. She gently picks it up and carries the limp body away from the oak.

Ebonypaw thinks to herself how she had caught a mouse and hadn't even learned the hunter's crouch, remembering Icepaw showing it to her and their brother a few sunrises earlier. They hadn't practiced it, though she does not remember why. She looks around, realizing the forest here looked the same but different. The same exact trees surround her, and the same bramble bushes and ferns cover the landscape. As she doesn't know where she is, she is lost.

She begins to pace the area, mouse in her jaws, calling out Dewheart, Troutpaw, and Voleblaze's names through the mouthful. But only silence answers her, and she sits down, feeling like a kit without a mother, and thinks how she should've stayed with the group and if she had she wouldn't be lost in the territory she's never seen before.

The apprentice decides to go looking for her mentor instead of sitting around and waiting. She rises to her feet and starts walking in the direction she thought the patrol had been going, and passes by something familiar; the oak tree she had caught her mouse under. She thinks to herself that yes, she is going the right way and starts to run forward, mouse in her jaws. She can hear a faint sound echoing in the distance, and realizes it was Dewheart calling for her. She runs towards the voice and skids to a halt, almost crashing into her brother.

Dewheart asks her where she had been, and she answers there was a mouse and she caught it. Voleblaze growls that she can't just run off whenever she sees a tiny little mouse, and she shrinks back, remarking to herself how she had never known him to be so short-tempered. Her mentor defends her, saying that she'll deal with her. The deputy says it is an order when Voleblaze doesn't listen, but he takes his apprentice and they move off to the side. Meanwhile, Ebonypaw turns back to her mentor, and apologizes in a small voice. Her mentor tells her to stay with them and that she knows it is her first time out in the forest and she was still a kit at dawn. She says she's not in trouble when her apprentice turns away, and thanks StarClan she's not in trouble on her first day of apprenticeship. She thanks her mentor and they carry on.

The small patrol stops at something made of stone, with herbs surrounding it. She remembers Icepaw telling her and Troutpaw about it, and that it was an abandoned Twoleg nest, and the herbs were for Silverpaw and her mentor to treat cats with. They next stop at a small cluster of very tall oak trees. She peers through the branches but cannot see the tops of any of them. Voleblaze glances at her, explaining they are the Sky Oaks and apprentices practice climbing trees here, and it is also a popular hunting spot. The final stop they make is at a small, shallow pond with a narrow runoff feeding out of it and into the distance. She spots several fish swimming in it and down the runoff. Dewheart explains it is the Fish Pond and it is fed from the ocean, and connected with the small runoff the see. She also says that cats who fish, like her and Amberglisten, fish here, and that if they want she can teach them. She wants to ask, but decides to after her and Troutpaw learn to hunt.

They arrive back at camp at sunhigh. She enters with her mouse still in her jaws. Most cats were out of camp, and the few left were in their dens or the ocean. Heads turn toward them and Pinespeckle races over to her kits, wet from the ocean, and licks each kit on the head in turn. She asks how it was and if they learned lots, and Dewheart responds that Ebonypaw got lost but managed to catch a mouse. Her mother is so proud of Ebonypaw, saying it was her first prey, and licks her cheek. Troutpaw puts in he though it was luck, and she thinks StarClan granted it, running over and dropping it on the small fresh-kill pile.

The apprentice notices Silverpaw appear from her den, who trots over right away, saying a greeting and asking if she caught something on her first day out. She replies that she caught this mouse, and her friend says it is cool and if she saw the abandoned Twoleg nest, and is there any marigold. The younger cat says she saw it and the whole territory, and there was a fresh supply. Silverpaw thanks her and walks out of camp, with her friend thinking she's going to gather the marigold, as that explains why she asked.

Ebonypaw turns back to the fresh-kill pile to see Minnowfur taking a minnow, which she guesses is for Streamkit, Troutpaw taking the other, Dewheart going to Moonstar's den under the Rockledge, and Voleblaze throwing her mouse off the prey pile, grunting, and choosing the sparrow instead. She decides to take her rodent to the elders, as Icepaw sometimes did. She picks up the mouse, which is a couple tail-lengths away from the rock that marks the kill pile, and carries it to the elders' den. She knows where the den is because she'd listened to their tales as a kit and watched her sister clean their nests.

She enters the cave and sees Fallenoak and Brindlewing in their mossy nests. Fallenoak greets her and she mews she brought them prey, with Brindlewing asking if it was warm. She replies she caught it earlier and shuffles her paws in embarrassment. The elder exclaims she caught it on her first day and that it is very good, and shouldn't worry in a thousand seasons, they'll have it. She prods her denmate, as he had started to dose off. Brindlewing thanks her for the mouse and she says that she's welcome, backing out of the den.

She hears cats at the camp entrance and sees it is a hunting patrol made up of Mousefoot, Bluefoot, Poppyseed, and Foxpounce. They have prey and drop it on the rock that marks the fresh-kill pile before leaving to get more, which are also dropped on the pile, and they retreat to their den.

She next sees Thornheart, Boulderstrike, Cloverstem, and Icepaw appear at the entrance. The warriors go into their den while Icepaw bounds over to Ebonypaw, greeting her and asking how the forest was. Ebonypaw mews excitedly that it was really fun and she even caught a mouse. She says that is cool and asks where it is, while the newer apprentice says she gave it to the elders and asks if that is a bad thing. Icepaw says that no, it was a good thing, and it means she was taking care of her Clan, plus Moonstar likes it when her apprentices behave. Icepaw then runs over to Troutpaw, who is talking to their mother near the nursery.

She turns her gaze towards the warriors' den and thinks how when she would be a warrior some day and be the best one, when Bluefoot and Voleblaze walk out just as she gets up. Bluefoot calls a greeting to her while Voleblaze just mutters under his breath and walks to the fresh-kill pile with his sister. Most of the warriors follow them out, except for Morningshine and Amberglisten, who she knows they had eaten earlier as they were out of camp for her and her brother's ceremony. Icepaw also joins them and they pick out prey until not much is left. The apprentice's stomach growls at the sight and she realizes she hadn't eaten anything all day.

She runs over to the pile and picks out a robin, then padding over to her brother, who is sunning himself on a rock in the ocean. He opens his eyes and she asks if he ate anything yet and he replies that he had the minnow. She says she forgot and he answers that he'll still eat something, as it was not enough to fill his belly. They trot side by side back to the prey pile where he chooses a mouse, and they head over to their sister, who is eating with a couple other warriors.

Ebonypaw and Troutpaw sit down in between Icepaw and Cloverstem. They are sitting in the shade of a small ledge, and she feels good to be out of the smoldering greenleaf sun and hopes to be out in the lush forest again. She eats her robin in small, famished bites, though the other cats chatted and took their time. She is still hungry, so she goes over and chooses a mouse. When she comes back, Icepaw asks if she's having her warrior assessment soon, and Cloverstem replies that yes she will in a couple sunrises, though after tomorrow's Gathering. Ebonypaw puts in asking that the Gathering's tomorrow and the warrior responds to check out the moon tonight, as she'll see it's almost full. She notes in her mind to check out the moon before she goes to sleep that night.

She finishes her mouse and buries the bones, as that was what she was taught to do as a kit. Sometimes, when she was younger, she would dig in the sand and find some. She pads over to the ocean, which feels cool on her stuffy fur. She rolls around in the shallows before venturing out farther, where the waves are bigger and one flies right over her head. She backs up a little, and they hit her face and chest. She remembers her mother telling her every once in a while a rockful of salt gets carried out farther, so it isn't as salty as before. She backs up even more until the waves only reach the middle of her legs, where she flips over and rolls around again, feeling good to be out of the heat.

Dewheart suddenly calls for her from across the clearing, saying she had a job for her. The new apprentice races over to her mentor, who is now calling Pinespeckle, Amberglisten, and Foxpounce over. After Dewheart sends out a couple patrols, she turns to her and says that while she's on patrol she should please change the elders' bedding. She looks at her with a question in her eyes and the mentor tells her to ask one of the warriors before leading a patrol out of camp.

Silverpaw then appears at the camp entrance with a bundle of marigold in her mouth, which she drops off at the medicine den and runs over to Ebonypaw, who asks if she can help her change the elders' bedding, as she doesn't know how. Her friend says that maybe Troutpaw can help them but before the younger cat can answer Icesplash calls from the medicine den, asking Silverpaw what she was doing. The older apprentice calls back, and her mentor answers. Silverpaw says she will and flicks her tail at her friend, saying they should go find her brother.

They pad along, looking for Troutpaw, and find him dozing under a rocky ledge. They prod him awake and Silverpaw explains she was gong to show Ebonypaw how to clean bedding, and asks if he wants to help. He says sure and they trot to the elders' den, where they find the elders sound asleep in their nests, though Brindlewing opens an eye as they step inside and greets them, asking if they were here to clean her and Fallenoak's nests. Ebonypaw responds with a yeah and that Silverpaw was going to teach her and her brother. The elder says that is good and pads off to the side of the den so the apprentices could work, and Fallenoak clumsily follows.

The apprentices start their work, and the oldest instructs they want to pick out the dirty pieces and leave the clean ones, pulling out a couple pieces. Ebonypaw does the same while Troutpaw watches from the cave entrance. The medicine cat apprentice says that once they finish with that they go out in the forest and get clean moss, and a couple ferns would be okay. Ebonypaw finishes on both nests, with Troutpaw helping out a bit, and then they follow their friend out of camp. Silverpaw points out trees near the entrance and says they are loaded with moss, and begins clawing carefully at it. The other two copy her, and she thinks it was harder than she expected, but she got a good amount, and Troutpaw got a few ferns.

They carry the bedding into camp and set it in front of the elders' den, which is empty as the elders are sunning themselves on the Sun Boulders. Silverpaw shows Ebonypaw and Troutpaw how to mix the clean bedding with the new bedding. Ebonypaw copies on the other nest and Troutpaw just watches. Silverpaw tells the she-cat that when the elders are done sunning themselves she will teach them to get ticks off their pelts in two ways. She thinks to herself why two ways and not just one, and which one was quicker, and hopefully that it wouldn't take too long.

She backs out of the den with her friend not far behind. Troutpaw sits in the middle of the clearing, grooming. She stretches out beside him and thinks how it was better out of the den, as it was starting to get stuffy. She watches some of the activities of camp through half-closed eyes. As it is peaceful, she decides to take a short nap. She curls up, noticing Troutpaw is already asleep, and starts to dream.

She wakes up to the sound of paws pattering at the camp entrance, which happens to be a hunting patrol. The sun is lower in the sky, and Dewheart comes back from patrol, walking over to her apprentice and asking how she enjoyed her time in camp. Ebonypaw answers that Silverpaw taught her how to change bedding in the elders' den and she took a short nap,but Troutpaw is still sleeping and she calls him a lazy lump, pointing to him with her tail, a smirk on her face. Dewheart says she's glad Silverpaw taught her how and that she's sure they'll be able to wake Troutpaw up, and asks if she learned the couple ways to get ticks off. Ebonypaw responds with a no and her mentor tells her she'll teach her and her brother when she's done organizing patrols in the morning and that Silverpaw can work with Icesplash, and asks if it is okay with her. She answers that it is perfectly fine and she might as well show Troutpaw too, and that he knows how to change bedding as he helped her and Silverpaw earlier. Her mentor nods and joins Moonstar on the Sun Boulders while she decides to wake her brother up.

The apprentice prods him with a paw and tells him to get up, as it is not nighttime yet. He rouses and they pad to the fresh-kill pile, grabbing a robin. They settle outside the apprentices' den, where they would be sleeping that night. She eats several small bites and lets her brother devour the rest, as she wasn't very hungry, though the last time she had eaten was past sunhigh. Troutpaw offers her a few scraps, but she shakes her head, and he eats them.

Once they are done eating, the sun is on the horizon, and cats are heading to their dens. She almost turns to the nursery, but reminds herself she wasn't a kit anymore. Icepaw shows her and her brother their nests and they settle down, and she curls her tail over her nose. Icepaw is also in a tight ball and their brother is fast asleep. After a few moments her sister drifts off, and she also falls into a deep sleep.

When Troutpaw wakes up, he thinks he is in the nursery, but then remembers he and Ebonypaw had been made apprentices the day before. She and Icepaw are noted to be sound asleep in their nests. Their brother tiptoes out of the den, careful not to wake him, but soon they join him in the clearing and race over to the deputy. Patrols leave camp and she and her brother are left in the clearing with Dewheart. The deputy murmurs something to her and she runs over to the medicine den, reappearing heartbeats later with Silverpaw at her side. They walk into the elders' den and Troutpaw follows.

Brindlewing meows a greeting to the apprentices while Fallenoak stretches and gazes at them with a friendly smile. Silverpaw explains she is going to teach Ebonypaw and Troutpaw how to search for and kill fleas in both ways, pointing at them with her tail. They are shown how to part fur and spot fleas. She is taught how to kill them with moss soaked with mouse bile on a stick. After the flea check is done she heads over to the ocean to wash her paws and later joins her brother to listen to the elders' stories.

Moonstar suddenly enters, telling them she thinks their mentors need to show them something before backing out of the den, and they follow her out. Their mentors are standing near the Sun Boulders and Voleblaze glances at her, explaining that today they were going to learn the hunter's crouch and practice in the Training Hollow in the middle of the territory, and might even get to stalking. They then head into the forest.

When Troutpaw hears the tempting sounds of prey, he recalls how he doesn't want to get lost like Ebonypaw the day before.

After Dewheart demonstrates the hunter's crouch she and her brother try. Her brother thinks she looks perfect and feels a twinge of jealousy but it quickly dissolves when Dewheart tells her to raise her hindquarters and tail a bit, as the prey would hear her swishing up the leaves.

As she and her brother are creeping towards some dandelions, Voleblaze remarks if they set their paws down as hard as that the prey would think they were badgers stomping through the undergrowth, so they both start to stalk much lighter, but she is again told to raise her tail a bit higher.

When Voleblaze says they can get to pouncing, she mews that was cool and that they'll be able to hunt soon. He growls she already did but meows she will with her brother when she starts to look down. She and Troutpaw practice their pouncing before Dewheart meows that they are the perfect pouncers but they need to work on their hunter's crouch and stalking skills and can practice back at camp, as it is almost sunhigh. They then head back to camp, and when they are back she bounds over to Silverpaw, who is checking on the elders.

Storm of Snow
She is listed in the allegiances as an apprentice of MoonClan.

The Great Flood
She is listed in the allegiances as a warrior of MoonClan.

Trivia

 * She has loner blood through her great-grandparents, Mousefoot and Bluefoot.
 * She inherited her father, Goldenfang's, green eyes.
 * She was named after her mentor.
 * Silverglow is her best friend.
 * Her power is scenting things even better than a dog.
 * She and Oakfrost are confirmed to become mates and have kits later in the first arc by EchobreezeOfWetClan, the author.
 * Their song is |A Thousand Years by Christina Perri.
 * She is one of the best hunters in MoonClan, along with Cloverstem.

Character Pixels

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Kin
Mother:

Pinespeckle: Living (As of The Great Flood)

Father:

Goldenfang: Deceased, verified StarClan member

Sister:

Iceshard: Living (As of The Great Flood)

Brother:

Troutfin: Living (As of The Great Flood)

Ceremonies

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